HB 5511- National Day Against Impunity

8/3/2019 HB 5511- National Day Against Impunity

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REP UBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESQuezo n City, Metro Ma nilaFIFTEENTH CONGRESSSecond Re gular Session

House B ill 5511Introduced b y Kabataan Partylist Representative Raymond V. Palatino. BayanMu na Represen tatives Teddy A. Casino and Ned J. Colmen ares, GabrielaW om en's Party Representat ives Luz C. Hagan and Em mi A. de Jesus, AnakpawisPartylist Representat ive Rafael "Ka Paeng" V. Mariano and ACT TeachersPartylist Representative Antonio L . Tinio

EXPLANATORY NOTEFree speech an d expression are cherished freedoms and values in our society,r ights that are in fact enshrined in our very own Co nstitution. It is the responsibil i ty ofevery ci t izen, espe cial ly those in power, to uphold and resp ect laws and instrum entsthat trumpet and ensure the recogni t ion of these r ights that are vi ta l contr ibutors toattaining a truly dem ocrat ic and progressive society. Wh en cit izens a re deprived of thefreedom to express their opinions and sentiments and actively engage in publicissues, the arena of governance and decision-making becomes the exclusivedom ain of the pr ivi leged few who al ready have a mon opoly in pol it ical and e conom icpower.Despite the inst itut ionalizat ion of these protect ive measu res and m echan isms,however, we continue to witness the brazen display of disregard and disrespecttowards these fundamental r ights.Pol i tical act iv is ts ha ve b een targets of hu ma n r ights v iolations through i llegalarrests, abd uction, torture and e xtrajudicial ki ll ings m ainly beca use o f their pol i tical

bel iefs, not be cause of the com mission of i l lega l acts. The lon g l ist of vict ims includestudents, teachers, farmers, workers, progressive local offic ials, leaders and me mb ersof non-governmental organizations, lawyers, judges, priests, pastors, and manyothers. In the case of political activists, the human rights violations against themintensified in the post 9/11 era, with various go vernm ents arou nd the world ado ptingUS-des igned tact ics in combating so-called enem ies of the state, policies which m akeno distinction between members of the legal organizations and undergroundcombatants. These led to repressive practices that were justified and madeacceptable in the nam e of ant i- insurgency ne cessi ty by warm ongers and advocatesof all-out war.Journalists and media workers, meanwhile, are targeted due to their1


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commitment to expose corrupt and malevolent practices in government. Variousmed ia freedom groups a ttribute the kill ings of journalists to we aknesses in our justicesystem , specif ically police ineff iciency and c ollusion with kil lers, and the s hortage in,and indifference of local prosecutors. The labell ing of som e journalists groups such asthe National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, the Philippine Center forInvest igat ive Journal ism and the C ol lege Edi tors Gui ld of the Ph i lippines during thepast administration as "enemies of the state" also contribute to this hostileenvironm ent espe cial ly for local and co mm unity journ al ists, with som e of them evenincluded in the drea ded mil i tary order o f batt le.This system atized violence ag ainst political act ivists and journalists is in placebecause of the pervasive culture of impunity that exists in the country. Ages ago,impunity was descr ibed simply as the exem pt ion from pun ishment. Today, however,the word has come to be associated with what appears to be an immunity fromprosecu tion of hum an rights violators, part icular those respon sible for the murde rs ofactivists and journalists. Despite the existence of relevant laws and internationalagreem ents on the respect for hum an r ights, very few ki llers of journalists and act ivistshave been prosecuted and punished as evident from the governments record ofnear-zero arrest, trial, and conviction of killers. The sad fact is that we have beenaccus tome d to these ki ll ings a nd the lack of governm ent action to the point that thisgrave injustice and lack of accountability has become routinary and has gainedacceptability. This is the culture of impunity that fuels the violence againstjournalists, activists and freedom fighters, phenomena that destroys not onlylives and freedoms but the foundations of genuinely democratic society.Yet, while impunity is being globalized through lopsided state defensepolicies, the international campaign to dismantle the culture of impunity is alsogaining ground, with press freedom and human rights advocates working hardto stop the killings through public awareness campaigns, assisting in theprosecution of the suspected killers and masterminds, and providinghumanitarian assistance to the families of slain journalists and activists. Thelatest endeavour in this anti-impunity movement is the declaration of November23 as the "International Day to End Impunity" (IDEI), a call to action to demandjustice for those who have been killed for exercising their right to freedom ofexpression and shed light on the issue of impunity. Organized by theInternational Freedom of Expression Exchange, a global network oforganizations working to defend and promote the right to freedom ofexpression, the IDEI chose November 23 to mark the event because it is thesecond anniversary of the Maguindanao Massacre, during which 32 journalistswere killed in the single deadliest day for journalists in the history.Our Constitution mandates Congress to further enact and legislate newmeasures that guarantee freedom of speech and of expression, especially sincepowerful threats to the exercise of such rights remain existing, while new forms ofviolat ions c ontinue to em erge. Thus , it is only f i tt ing that we join and echo our voicesin th is g lobal cam paign to end impuni ty. This b i l l seeks to dec lare Novem ber 23 ofevery year as the "National Day Against Impunity" in order to serve as a constantreminder to a l l segments of society of the horrors of the Magu indanao ma ssacre andmore importantly, to express our governments commitment to prosecute theperpetrators of violence a gainst act ivists and journalists.

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The approval of this bill is earnestly and urgently sought.

H O N . O D V . PA L A T I N OReprese tative, Kabataan Partylist

H O N . TED D Y A . C A SIN ORepresentative, Bayan Muna

HOI)1!I^jUZ C. I L A G A N V H O N . E M M I A. D JESUSRepresentative, Gabriela Women's Party Representative, Gabriela Women's Party

RI C L M E N A Rtative, Bayan Muna

HON. RAFAEL "Ka Paeng V. MARIAN . A N T O N I L. TINIRepresentative, Anakpawis Partylist Representative, ACT Teachers Partylist

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REPUBLIC OF THE PH ILIPPINESHOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESQuezon City, Metro Manila

FIFTEENTH CONGR ESSSecond Re gular Session5511House B ill No.Introduced b y Kabataan P artylist Representative Raym ond V . Palatino. BayanMu na Rep resentatives Teddy A. Casino and Neri J. Colm enares, Gabriela

W omen 's Party Representat ives Luz C. Hagan and Em mi A. de Jesus,Anakp awis Partylist Representative Rafael "Ka Paeng" V. Mariano and ACTTeach ers Partylist Repres entative Antonio L. TinioAN ACTDECLARING NOVEMBER 23 OF EVERY YEAR AS NATIONAL DAY AGAINSTIMPUNITY

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines inCongress assembled.-SECTION 1. Novem ber 23 of every year is hereby declared as the Nat ional Day

2 Against Impunity to remember those that have been persecuted for exercising their3 r ight to freedom of speech and freedom of expression, and express com mitment to4 bring the perpetrators of these violations to justice.5

6 SECTION 2. Al l government off ices, private insti tut ions, schools, col leges and7 universities are hereby encourage d to extend their full support for exercises and8 activities in the observan ce of the National Day A gainst Impun ity, as we ll as in the9 promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of speech and freedom of

io expression and in ca lling for justice for victims of hum an rights violations.

12 SECTION 3. The Depa rtment of Education shall promulgate the necessary rules13 and regulat ions in order to designate Novem ber 23 as a day when social studies14 lectures in eleme ntary and high schools shall be devoted to topics on free speech

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and expres sion as a huma n right. The Depa rtment of Education, in coordination2 with the Com mission on Hum an Rights and var ious human r ights groups and3 media organizations, is hereby tasked to formulate the content of the special4 lecture.5 The C om mission on H igher Educat ion shal l encourage al l ter t iary educa t ional6 insti tutions to hold spe cial lectures a nd othe r activit ies that are relevant to the7 object ives of the com mem orat ion.89 SECTION 4. The Depa rtment of Just ice and the Com mission of Hum an Rights, in

t o coordination with various human rights groups and media organizations, are11 hereby tasked to plan and execute appropriate program s and act ivities to carry out12 the aim of this comm emorat ion.1314 SECTION 5. Effectivity Clau se. This Ac t shall take effect fifteen (15 ) days after15 the com pletion of i ts publ icat ion in the O ffic ia l Gazette or in any news paper of16 general circulation.1718 Approved,

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Documents

HB 5511- National Day Against Impunity